A cast Iron fortune! Robert Downey Jr named Hollywood's highest paid actor, earning $75 million in the last year

Highest paid: Robert Downey Jr raked in an impressive $65 million in the last year according to Forbes

His Iron Man alter ego Tony Stark is a billionaire as well as a superhero.

And it seems actor Robert Downey Jr is fast following in his character's rich footsteps.

The 48-year-old actor has been named the highest earning Hollywood actor in the past year, raking in a cool $75 million between June 2012 and 2013.

And the star certainly seems to have earned his salary.

According to Forbes magazine, Downey Jr has starred in six movies that have each grossed more than $500 million at the worldwide box office over the past year.

Iron Man 3 and ensemble action movie The Avengers each earned more than $1billion and The Avengers is the third grossing film of all time.

Forbes's report states that Downey Jr was the 'only indispensable actor' on the Avengers which co-starred Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner.

'As
long as he's willing to keep putting on the Iron Man suit, Downey will
remain one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors,' writes Forbes's Dorothy Pomerantz.

Downey Jr's pay packet for The Avengers
was reported to be more than his co-stars, with
the actor having secured a percentage of the box office profits.

He will also be paid handsomely for the Avengers sequel which will start filming next February.

His recent successes have been something or a turnaround for Downey Jr who was arrested numerous times on drug related charges in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The first Iron Man film was released
back in 2008 and earned $585 million worldwide with the franchise
bringing in nearly $2.5 billion overall according to Forbes.

Downey is followed on the list by up and coming star Channing Tatum who earned an estimated $60million, making it into second place.

The heart-throb actor teamed up with director Steven Soderbergh to self finance hit movie Magic Mike - meaning profits did not have to be shared with the studio when the film brought in an estimated $167 million at the U.S. box office.

An iron clad salary: Robert Downey's role as Tony Stark has earned him millions, landing him top of Fobes Magazine's list of highest paid actors

Oscar nominated actor Hugh Jackman makes third place on the list with an estimated $55 million in earnings - much of the cash comes from his forthcoming X-Men Wolverine sequel.

His starring role as Jean Valjeanin
Les Miserables saw him narrowly miss out on a Best Actor Oscar to
Daniel Day Lewis, but the musical film was a box office hit and was
nominated for eight Academy Awards.

Following success in the 2012 comedy
movie Ted, Mark Wahlberg scores an impressive fourth place with $52
million, while Dwayne Johnson comes in fifth, thanks in part to the
storming box office performance of his latest film Fast & Furious
6.

Johnson is involved in
several forthcoming franchises including another Fast & Furious movie, a
possible third instalment in the Journey films and the lead role in
Transformers 4.

Coming in second: Channing Tatum scored an impressive year, thanks to the success of Magic Mike

Highly ranked: Hugh Jackman and Mark Wahlberg came in third and fourth on the prestigious list

Leonardo DiCaprio may opt of blockbuster films these days, but his box office success is no less impressive.

The
Titanic star comes sixth on the Forbes list with $39 million after his recent
role as Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby made $250
million.

Adam Sandler follows just behind with
$37 million with his 2012 animated movie Hotel Transylvania providing him
with his biggest hit to date, according to Forbes.

The
movie grossed $347 million on an $85 million budget, making up for
critical disappointments like That's My Boy and Jack and Jill.